HOSEA 11:5

The Bible says in Hosea 11:5-7, “He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.[6] And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.[7] And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.” One of the truths that these verses demonstrate is the fact that God is in charge of the affairs of men. God is in charge of the destiny of nations. God decided that Israel would be conquered by a foreign nation and which nation it would be. It would not be Egypt because God said that it would not, but it would be Assyria because that was God’s choice to conquer. I hope that you understand that your future is in God’s hands. Because of that truth we rely upon the advice, counsel, and consent of Jesus Christ. God said that the Israelites would be consumed by the Assyrians “because of their own counsels.” In other words they relied upon their own wisdom instead of relying on God. That resulted in foolishness. Human beings are foolish to think that they can figure things out without the help of the Lord.

It is important to understand the tendencies of human nature if you are going to understand the world in which we live, and if you are going to understand yourself. Human beings tend to do the wrong thing, they tend to sin, and they tend to go away from God. Just as it says in Hosea 11:7, “And my people are bent to backsliding from me.” It says in Job 5:7, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” It says in Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” And it says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

In the final analysis, what really happens when we go away from the Lord? That is explained very well in the last part of Hosea 11:7 that says, “though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.” People get called by God to come to Christ. Sadly, only a few respond to that call. Once we get to the point where no one will respond to the call: that will probably be the day that the end comes. That is what happened with Israel. It says, “none at all would exalt him” in the context of explaining why God finally brought judgment upon that sinful nation. Human beings have been given a free will, but how terrible it will be for those who used their free choice to turn away from Jesus.

In the following verses once again we see that when God starts talking about the judgment that comes upon Israel, He stops Himself and starts talking about how much He loves them and how much mercy He will bring upon Israel. The Bible says in Hosea 11:8-11, “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.[9] I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.[10] They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.[11] They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.” God asks three rhetorical questions in verse 8, and the answer is obvious. He cannot give up His people. He cannot destroy them. God cannot plan out a future for the people of the world and leave Israel out of that future. Impossible: it will not happen.

Notice the phrase that God uses in Hosea 11:9 to explain why He will not totally destroy Israel. He said, “for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee.” There are things about God that are different than man, of course. What is it about God that makes Him not destroy those whom He could destroy? God has love and mercy and patience and kindness in quantities that no human being can even imagine. It is interesting that God mentions His holiness in this context. He calls Himself, “the Holy One in the midst of thee.” Perhaps this is because holiness encompasses all of these other qualities of goodness. As far as our official spiritual standing before God is concerned, God has given us His holiness through faith in Christ. That is why believers are called “holy” in the New Testament. For example, it says in Hebrews 3:1, “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;” And it says in First Corinthians 1:2, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:” The word “sanctified” means literally “made holy.” A “holy” God will not destroy His “holy” people. This, by the way, is part of the basis for the truth of eternal security. The word “saint” means “holy one.” All believers are saints because of Jesus and the imputed righteousness that we received freely from Him.

Hosea 11:9 says a lot: “I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.” If God would not destroy Ephraim when they violated the law and were under the law, then what will be the destiny of believers in Jesus who are not under law but under grace? We can conclude once again that eternal security is taught everywhere we look in the scriptures.

God’s plan is for salvation to come to the people of Israel and to as many Gentiles who will believe on Jesus. Hosea 11:10 tells us one important aspect of how this salvation comes to people. It says, “They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.” This refers to the fear of God being put into people so they will desire to be saved. Salvation means being saved from God’s wrath. How will you desire to be saved unless you come to a realization that you are in danger of the wrath of God. There is a hell. Many people go there because of their own hard hearts. Salvation cannot take place in anyone’s heart until this conviction of the Holy Spirit takes sway in someone’s heart. Salvation is of God. No one gets saved because they bow their head and repeat certain words that another person encourages them to say. Salvation takes place when the Holy Spirit comes over someone, convicts them of sin, and reveals Jesus to them. Salvation is the work of God, not man. This truth also confirms that eternal security is taught in the scriptures. Jesus cannot lose what He gives to man. Jesus said to His believers in John 10:28-31, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.[29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.[30] I and my Father are one.
[31] Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.”

The Bible says in Hosea 11:12, “Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.” Remember that this is a time when “Israel” and “Judah” were separate nations. They divided up just after King Solomon died, and remained divided and often at war after that. Israel went further downhill first, and was destroyed by Assyria well before Judah was conquered by Babylon. We know why God put His affection on Judah. Through Judah would come the great promises about the Messiah. For example, it says in Genesis 49:9-10, “Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?[10] The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Jesus is the ultimate lion of Judah. Jesus is Shiloh. No matter how much man failed, God would still keep His promises. It always works that way. This is one more spiritual principle that shows the truth of eternal security. Salvation is based upon God’s promises and God’s promises alone, and God always keeps His promises.

The Bible says in Hosea 12:1-6, “Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.[2] The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.[3] He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:[4] Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;[5] Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.[6] Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.” These verses start out once again describing the bad spiritual condition that the Israelites had fallen into. Notice the principle involved in Hosea 12:1 that says, “he daily increaseth lies.” Everyone is heading in one direction or another. No one is standing still. Be careful about what you let into your life. You just might start doing more of it, and more of it, and more of it. And then what will you become? That is what happens to people who become drug addicts, and alcoholics, and who fall further into immorality or some alternate life-style. The same is true with lying. If you are not attached to the truth and determined to tell the truth, then you will become a liar and you will increase in the amount of lying that do. People start lying because they think they will benefit from it, or because they have something to hide. But even in this life, the truth eventually comes out, and the lies only make things worse. For one thing that person’s reputation will be ruined and no one will trust them. Even if someone thinks the truth will not come out, God knows. Because of what actions you perform because an individual action can lead to a habit. A habit can lead to a life-style. And then a life-style will lead to a destiny.

Notice that Hosea 12:2 speaks of “Jacob,” and tells a couple of the most important events in Jacob’s life. How does anyone go from being Jacob to being Israel? It says in Hosea 12:3-4, “He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:[4] Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us.” When Jacob was born, even the circumstances of his birth were used of God as a part of Jacob’s destiny. That is true of all of us: who our parents are, where we are born, the circumstances in which we are brought up are all totally out of our control, but they are not out of God’s control. As a matter of fact, God chose all of those things as well as other details so we would be just the person that God wants us to be. Of course, all of that will add together and make us the right person if we also turn to Jesus and receive Him as Savior. The thing to notice about Jacob at his birth is that he grabbed his twin brother’s foot. This demonstrated Jacob’s character that he was born with to aggressively go after what he wanted. That can be a very bad thing especially when we consider that the core of sin is human selfishness.

But if enthusiasm and energy gets directed towards the right direction (towards Christ), it can become a very good thing. That is exactly what happened when Jacob wrestled with an angel to receive a blessing. In other words Jacob would not give up in going after God. Jacob was determined to seek the Lord and to keep seeking Him. We must have that same attitude in our hearts if we are to keep following Jesus. Do not let anything keep you from Jesus. Do not let your sins and failures keep you from Jesus: He will forgive you. Do not let your difficulties and disappointments keep you from Jesus: He will help you. Do not let your worries and fears keep you from Jesus: He will increase your faith and protect you too. Make sure you have the same motivation that Jacob had when he wrestled with the angel and prevailed. By the way, the “angel” was probably one of the manifestations of Christ in the Old Testament.

___________________________________________________